Rebirth with the Beast_7

Chapter 45 continued….

Ed still wore that easygoing look and didn’t seem angry at all about what Su Yi had said.

“We’re all injured. We want to rest here for a day. Once we’ve recovered, we’ll leave immediately.”

Su Yi had already felt that this Ed was different from other beastmen. His personality was very restrained, and he was meticulous in thought. Ed was the kind of beastman well-suited to be a leader—good to have as a friend, but if he became an enemy, he’d be a formidable one.

Su Yi remembered how, earlier, Ed clearly could have stopped Taige’s provocation but chose to indulge it. That alone made Su Yi dislike Ed; even as a friend, a man like this was bound to be a headache.

For now, though, these beastmen clearly didn’t plan to leave on the spot.

Su Yi and his people couldn’t simply drive them out either—if they pushed too hard, it could bring a worse disaster down on them. Since Ed had already taken a step back, Su Yi decided to follow his lead down the staircase he’d offered.

Su Yi said, “We just want to live peacefully here without outside interference. You can see we have females and little ones. We’re no different from you—we’re all just trying to survive. So I hope that, after you leave, you won’t go around broadcasting the location of our valley.”

It was the sort of thing you said on the surface; Su Yi didn’t truly expect them to keep the secret.

Sooner or later, other beastmen passing by would discover this valley. Su Yi hadn’t planned to hide away from the world forever. If they could get along peacefully with other tribes, that would be best. But if anyone came with bad intentions, they wouldn’t be easy to bully.

He’d been living too long in this tranquil, conflict-free place—gentle, beautiful lover at his side, adorable child in his arms—Su Yi had nearly forgotten the person he used to be.

Chapter 46

“In fact, you don’t need to worry so much,” Ed said evenly. “Most tribes have lasted for hundreds or thousands of years. A complete tribe isn’t built in a day, so the people treasure their homes. We wouldn’t take your place just because your way of building is unique. At most, we might come learn from you.”

He wasn’t wrong. For beastmen here, no matter how flawed their tribe might be, it was where they’d lived together and built memories. Larger tribes especially wouldn’t relocate lightly. Unless some once-in-centuries disaster struck, these conservative people wouldn’t leave.

In the end, it was Taylor who came to guide the winged-leopard beastmen away.

Since Taylor wasn’t an “unlucky” beastman, having him interface with the winged-leopard tribe was ideal.

Su Yi and Xinuo left the valley to check on the herd Ed had mentioned. To the west of the valley they indeed found traces of a migrating herd. It was early in the rainy season—strange timing for herds to be about—but it looked like they were only passing through and hadn’t noticed the valley.

When Ed’s group stepped into the spacious, bright house, they couldn’t help being amazed. With doors and windows for ventilation, there was no lingering stink. And in rain or snow, it stayed warm. Compared to dark, damp caves, this kind of house was incredibly comfortable.

Ian had been in his room making leather boots—he’d only recently started learning from Mino.

With boots, your feet wouldn’t get cut up by rocks. Beastmen’s soles were callused from years of going barefoot, but Ian couldn’t transform, and his body was weaker than an ordinary beastman’s. With the rainy season here and boredom setting in, he’d started learning bootmaking from Mino.

He was trying on a freshly finished pair when a racket sounded outside—then his door was suddenly pushed open.

Ian frowned in displeasure. Everyone knew he was sensitive; they always called out before coming in. But this person had just barged in?

He looked up and saw a clueless stranger of a beastman staring blankly at him.

Ian was wearing a new vest Su Yi had made. It had been intended for Xinuo, but it came out a bit small, so Su Yi gave it to Ian. The vest was made of red hide, setting off Ian’s overly fair skin.

Taige stared, then hurriedly called to Ed, “Ed, there’s a really beautiful female in here!”

Puzzled, Ed came over. He hadn’t smelled a female’s scent—how could there suddenly be one?

But when he too got a clear look, even he was stunned by Ian’s striking features.

At the word “female,” Ian’s brows knit. “I’m not a female,” he said coldly.

Not a female?

Only then did Ed and Taige notice this person was much taller than a female, yet shorter than a typical beastman. His build fell between the two, and the strip of abdomen showing beneath the vest was firm, with no softness at all.

“Apologies,” Ed said politely. “We’re here to ask for a place to rest. We ran into a herd on the way and ended up here.”

Ian didn’t relax at his explanation; instead he looked a bit panicked. They were ordinary beastmen—were they here to drive them out?

Seeing his face go pale, both beastmen realized he’d gotten the wrong idea.

Taige rushed to reassure him, flustered, “D-don’t worry. We mean no harm. We really are just resting here.”

He wasn’t good with words, and trying to comfort the frightened man left him at a loss.

“All right, stop bothering Ian. His health isn’t good,” Taylor’s steady voice sounded. With a wave of his big hand, he shooed the two away from the doorway and, without making a show of it, helped Ian close the door.

The other beastmen had all gone hunting, so the sudden arrival of the winged-leopard tribe saw them each allotted a room to rest in. They hadn’t slept properly for days—if not for the most beautiful female in their tribe, they wouldn’t have been pushing themselves like this.

They slept straight through to afternoon, when the smells from outside roused them.

In the end, the winged-leopard beastmen traded some of their earlier kills for a big meal from Ian.

While they slept, Ian had noticed they’d brought back quite a bit of game and some fine hides. So when they gathered around the kitchen upon waking, he quite naturally stated his terms.

It was the rainy season now; food was precious. Ian wasn’t about to take a loss.

Even if he hadn’t said so, Ed would have left their game behind.

Across this continent, tribes were simple and hospitable; visiting back and forth was common.

But Ed’s group and the people in the valley weren’t the same. The valley folk were “unlucky” beastmen, driven out by tribes and kin; relations with ordinary beastmen were usually poor. Their being allowed to rest here was thanks to Ed’s efforts.

Ed had already decided to leave all the game they’d brought as thanks for the help.

For winged beastmen, encountering a herd wasn’t especially dangerous—so why insist on staying a day? Because to safely avoid the herd they had to travel in beast form. Beast forms were huge, and flying would easily attract a herd to follow. If they accidentally led the herd toward their own tribe, it would endanger their people. That’s why they had to stop here and wait. If their tribe were like this valley—ringed by cliffs, hard to climb—they wouldn’t worry so much about herds. But they didn’t have such natural defenses.

Ian’s cooking, while not on par with Mino’s or Su Yi’s, still beat plain roast meat by a mile thanks to fresh vegetables and seasonings. Ed’s eyes lit up at the first bite, and he praised, “Your food is really delicious.”

Chapter 47

Ian ignored him and ate quietly. His long lashes lowered, hiding those beautiful eyes. After he and Taylor finished and left, Taige sidled up to Ed. “Ed, that beastman is really good-looking—no worse than our tribe’s Resa.”

The others chimed in their agreement.

If not for Resa, they wouldn’t have trekked so far in the rainy season.

Resa had come of age this year and declared that whoever brought him the best hides to make clothes would become his intended partner. Plenty of winged-leopard warriors had braved the rain in search of finer, more beautiful hides. Ed’s team was among them.

“And his cooking is actually good,” Taige grumbled on. “Unlike Resa, who can’t do anything but act cute.”

Taige hadn’t really wanted to court Resa; he’d just been bored in the tribe, and when Ed set out, he tagged along.

Ed smiled. “Good is good—but he can’t bear children.”

Taige thought it over and realized Ian was a beastman indeed and couldn’t.

“Yeah—what a pity,” he sighed.

The others joked, “Not only can’t he bear children, he’s an unlucky beastman. If you brought him back, not only would he suffer, you’d probably have a pile of trouble too.”

“Just thinking about someone that pretty being unlucky… he must’ve been through a lot.”

At those words, something flickered in the deep-water darkness of Ed’s eyes.

Another winged-leopard added, “If it weren’t for the herd, I really wouldn’t want to stay in a place full of unlucky beastmen.”

Taige frowned. “We’ve been here quite a while and haven’t seen anything bad. And I think they’re all pretty nice.”

Once, Taige would never have said that. But ever since he’d fought Su Yi, then seen him again in the valley—no longer skinny, a bit fuller, and clearly living well—and seen a female doing fine with an unlucky beastman, he’d started to rethink things.

As they talked, Ian picked up a hide bag and headed out. Taige dropped his shell bowl and trotted after him.

Ian looked at him helplessly. “Why are you following me?”

Taige scratched his head with a dopey grin. “What are you doing? Need help?”

Ian was about to answer when Su Yi appeared and cut in.

“Ian, heading out?”

Ian looked over and saw Little Eli drowsing around Su Yi’s neck like a scarf.

Little Eli wound twice around Su Yi’s neck and then, listless, tucked his head into Su Yi’s shirt. Ian’s foul mood lifted at the sight of the little one.

“I’m going to gather some kindling nearby,” he said. “In a few days there won’t be any dry branches left.”

Su Yi patted Little Eli, then took him down and set him in the backpack frame. The child should have been napping at home, but before he fell asleep he’d heard Su Yi was going out and insisted on tagging along, so Su Yi had brought him. The frame was lined with soft hide; once Little Eli was settled, Su Yi hoisted it onto his back.

“Okay, I’ll go with you,” Su Yi said. He’d come out partly to make sure the winged-leopard people didn’t cause trouble. Apparently he’d worried too much; the way Taige trailed after Ian, all smiles, didn’t look quarrelsome at all.

They started gathering in the valley. Su Yi ignored Taige shadowing them and asked Ian, “They didn’t give you any trouble, did they?”

Ian gave Su Yi a grateful, shallow smile—very beautiful.

Following behind, Taige was dazzled and froze in place, stunned. As expected, good-looking people are even better when they smile, he thought.

Seeing Taige’s expression, a flash of disgust crossed Ian’s eyes. His body and face had always been a thorn in his heart. Now, with a beastman staring at him, entranced, Ian felt tight in the chest.

“What are you looking at?!” he snapped, losing control.

Su Yi hadn’t expected Ian to flare up. He was about to ask what was wrong when Taige, flustered, stammered, “I—I wasn’t looking at anything.”

“I’m not a female,” Ian said angrily. “You’d best cut out those strange ideas.”

Usually Ian was taciturn, even wooden. Su Yi had never seen him so bristling with spikes.

“N-no, I just wanted to help… I wasn’t—” Taige began, but Ed cut him off.

“That’s enough, Taige. Go gather kindling nearby.” Ed had followed them at a distance and now came up. He’d also seen Ian’s smile a moment ago—and to be honest, Ian truly was striking.

Seeing Ian didn’t want him around, Taige slunk off obediently.

Ed was very clever—Su Yi had thought so from the first meeting. After Taige left, Ed still followed but never overstepped. He didn’t force conversation with Ian or Su Yi, just quietly helped collect branches. When he saw Ian glance more than once at a certain fruit, he silently climbed up and picked it for him.

At first, Ian could turn away coldly at Ed’s behavior. But Ed simply kept at it until dark, never showing a hint of impatience.

In Ian’s mind, this beastman named Ed was very strange.

Night fell, and Dino came to fetch Su Yi home. When he spotted Ed, he paused, then pretended not to see him and just called Su Yi back.

By then Little Eli, who’d napped all afternoon, popped out of the backpack full of energy. After Su Yi said goodbye to Ian, he turned and headed back with Dino.

Ed watched Dino’s retreating figure. The once skin-and-bones child had been fed white and plump; you’d never guess he’d suffered as an unlucky beastman. His clothes were delicate and cleverly made—probably by Su Yi. It was clear they were living a very good life now.

Ian trudged home under a giant hide sack. Ed didn’t presumptuously reach to help. From his observation, this beastman was likely unlucky as well and clearly disliked people getting close. Ed didn’t know what he’d been through, but he could see the sadness and inferiority deep in Ian’s eyes.

For a beastman, a strong body was paramount. Ian didn’t have that; on top of it, he had a face even prettier than a female’s. With all that, surely his heart must be hurting.